We're Only Human, Except When We're Not
by Cumberbatch Critter
Summary: Yeah, mind control is scary. It's even more scary when your Vulcan first officer is trembling from barely contained rage and your CMO is being stubbornly self-sacrificing. Reboot of the TOS episode Plato's Stepchildren, but no knowledge needed of TOS or the episode. On a semi-hiatus for now.
1. Chapter 1

**We're Only Human, Except When We're Not**

Spock's laughter.

It made the hair on the back of Kirk's neck stand on end.

They had been assigned to this planet- although maybe _assigned_ wasn't the word. They had been _forced_ to this planet. By designs other than their own, coordinates had been locked onto the _Enterprise_'s system and the ship had been forced into Warp Three. They had had no choice in the matter. Starfleet Command could do nothing about it as the intentions were not hostile as of yet and the planet that they were travelling to was under close wraps by the inhabitants. This was the only way that they would get to the planet, so stay alert, Kirk, but deal with it.

They had stayed alert. He and Spock and Bones, all the time that they had been on the planet's surface. And staying alert had brought one conclusion to mind: that these inhabitants were not good and they possessed a power that could very well kill.

Psychokinesis. The ability to do _anything_ with ones mind, or, at least that's what it seemed like to Kirk. Because this wasn't just the making books float around shit, this was the Platonians reaching their kinetic fingers into their minds and making them do things that they would never do.

Like making Spock laugh.

Kirk uneasily shared a glance with Bones. A cold chill had settled into his veins and he couldn't shake it, just like Spock couldn't shake the Platonians' power.

Spock was slumped against the wall, one arm curled around his stomach and the other against the wall for support. His laughter was something that Kirk couldn't really put a pin on, but it was something that he never wanted to hear again. It was melodious, almost infectious, if this had been a laughing matter. But it set Kirk's hair on end, turned his veins to ice, and left trepidation filling the air. Spock was not supposed to laugh. Spock was... Spock. Laughing was illogical but now Spock could barely breathe for his illogicality.

Bones looked livid. His eyes were locked on the laughing Spock, but his nostrils were flaring and there was fire in his eyes.

Silence was upon the room asides from Spock's laughter, Spock's gasping for breath. The Vulcan, still giggling, slid down the wall until he was in a crumpled sitting position, his fingers clutching his uniform and his shoulders shaking.

One wrong word could kill Spock. The Platonians were just making him laugh- which was no good for an unemotional being, sure- but they could make Spock pick up a knife and stab himself in the heart if they wished. They couldn't argue, not while Spock was in their clutches, no matter how much Kirk wanted to-

"You can't force emotion from him! You'll kill him!" Bones exploded, making both Kirk and the Plutonian king flinch.

"Oh, well..." the Plutonian king, Parmen, said thoughtfully. "I wouldn't want our dear Vulcan to die laughing."

Spock's laughter broke off so suddenly that it sounded like he was choking. Kirk's gaze snapped back to him, terror settling into his stomach. It was only placated when he didn't find his first officer writhing in pain... but he found tears travelling down Spock's cheeks as he looked back at him.

Kirk wasn't really sentimental, not more than anyone else, but his stomach dropped out when he found Spock crying. It was worse than the laughter.

He clenched his teeth, trying to shift his position. Still locked in place, frozen by an invisible, unbreakable force field. A mental force field, both he and Bones, doomed to watch their best friend emotionally collapse to pieces in front of them.

"What... do you _want_?" Kirk said, swivelling his gaze to look at Parmen again.

Parmen raised his eyebrow in response, his gaze locked on Spock.

"Captain... Jim..." Kirk immediately looked back at Spock, mentally wincing as Spock crawled closer. "Jim... Forgive..."

"Spock. Spock. Fight them! You-"

"Half breed..." Spock muttered thickly, curling up at Kirk's feet. Grovelling.

"You son of a bitch-" Kirk started, but stopped abruptly when a spasm of pain shot straight through his body. He had no recollection of pain so intense, so debilitating, that it numbed his mind and body momentarily, made him forget all about Spock.

His legs seemed suddenly to not be there. He crashed to his knees, catching himself on his hands and barely avoiding bumping into Spock.

"Do you forgive your meddling half-breed officer, Captain Kirk?" Parmen said pleasantly.

"Jim- Jim! Dammit, leave them alone!"

"Spock..." Kirk ground out, squinting in pain. "Spock... fight..."

Spock raised his head, staring at Kirk through red eyes. His cheeks were stained with tears, flushed with green. The infinitely worst part was the look in Spock's eyes was pure _fear_.

Kirk never wanted to see the look on Spock's face again. He was going to kill these people, he was going to kill them-

His hands reached out of their own accord, finding their place against either side of Spock's face. His fingers dug into the tear-stained flesh lightly, holding him in place even though neither of them could move.

Kirk stared at Spock, teeth clenched. All he could think was _no, please, no_ over and over again. Begging as a Captain, how degrading. The life of his first officer was infinitely more important than any captaincy. All he could think was pleading thoughts because, right now, he was at the perfect place to simply snap Spock's neck.

McCoy was saying something, but Kirk couldn't hold onto the words. He felt like he could vomit, if he didn't have other things to worry about.

Suddenly, his limbs were his own. His body felt tired and heavy, laced with worry and exhaustion. The fight had gone out of him, but so had the psychokinesis. His hands fell away from Spock's face just a half second before Spock fell forward. Kirk caught him reflexively. McCoy was crouched next to him in the next second, his fingers pressing against a point on Spock's neck and his tricorder whistling in his hand.

"That's enough for now," Parmen said shortly. "Return to your room."

Kirk did not comment. "Bones, help me," he murmured, throwing one of Spock's arms around his neck. "Get that side..."

Step by painful step, they returned to their room. The metallic click of a lock behind him signalled their entrapment, as though they could have left if they wanted when these people were psychokinesis-wielding bastards.

"Is he alright, Bones?" They placed Spock on one of the lounges, Kirk taking a step back to let Bones work.

"It's his damn Vulcan physiology. Emotions will kill him, Jim; I don't know what this'll do to him. He has to sort through it himself. His human side has been forced to the surface. He has to compensate for it." McCoy took a step back. "I can't help him, Jim."

Kirk stared down at Spock, his lips drawn into a permanent frown. "How long is it going to take?" He looked at Bones. "For him to recover?"

"I can't tell you that, either."

Kirk sat on the end of the lounge, sighing heavily.

"How are you, Jim? Are you feel any adverse side-effects?" Bones asked, flopping down next to him.

"I'm just tired, Bones..."

"Your blood pressure's up."

"Well, isn't yours?" Kirk snapped, before recoiling. "Sorry. Worked up."

McCoy sighed as well. "Yeah... I know. Dammit, Jim, they haven't even said that they _want_ anything besides to torment the shit out of us."

"Yeah, well... We're going to figure it out. I'm gonna... gonna do something..." Kirk muttered, rubbing his eyes. "Something."

In a situation like this, however, Kirk knew it was easier said than done.

* * *

_**Plato's Stepchildren**_**. And it's ****one of those things that I can't help but wonder what would have been like in Reboot, so Reboot!_Plato's Stepchildren_. Obviously, there's some similarities (names and species), and some differences (no Alexander), AND**

_**You do not have to have any knowledge of The Original Series or the episode **_**Plato's Stepchildren_ to understand this story._**

**Everything will be explained. Like said, this is a Reboot of _Plato's Stepchildren_, though, so if it seems similar, that's why.**

**I do not own _Star Trek_, _The Original Series_ or the 2009 movie. Thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Jim...?"

Kirk pried his eyes open. He felt sick and tired, exhausted. He didn't want to look around and he didn't want to move, but there was someone more important that needed him and that person was asking for him.

"Spock." He pushed himself into a sitting position, rubbing his eyes. He must have fallen asleep; the last thing he remembered was sitting at the end of Spock's lounge.

He looked at his first officer hesitantly. "How are you feeling...?"

Spock looked about as good as he could be expected to look. He was pale, his eyes were swollen and tinged green. The tear tracks were gone from his face, but the ghosts of them were still fresh in Kirk's mind.

"Compromised," Spock said shortly, trying to sit up.

"Hey, no, stay still! You need to rest! Don't make me tell Bones- where is Bones?" he asked, putting his hand on Spock's shoulder as he looked around.

"I do not know." Spock looked at Kirk's hand on his shoulder. "Captain, I..."

"Shit. What the hell are they doing to him now..." Kirk muttered, looking towards the door. "We have got to get out of here."

"Jim," Spock said loudly.

Kirk looked back at him. "Yeah? Sorry, what? You still haven't told me how you're feeling. Bones said emotion can kill you. Being forced from you and all that. Tell me how you're feeling."

Spock seemed to struggle with words for a moment. He shrugged Kirk's hand off and sat up straight, pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes. "Mentally... crushed," he said slowly. "That is, however, illogical. I am... experiencing emotion, Jim."

Kirk tilted his head, frowning. "Yeah, they were... they were making you, er, human, I guess. I don't know, Spock, but it's... fine. I mean, it's just... natural."

"It is not natural for a Vulcan."

"Yeah, well... it's normal. Healthy. You know."

"It is neither normal nor healthy to have repressed emotions _torn_ from one's body, from one's mind."

Spock's tone was more than a little unsettling. It was just then Kirk noticed Spock was shaking. Literally shaking, small tremors that were moving through his shoulders and arms every so often. It freaked Kirk out more than he would care to admit.

"Spock... it's alright."

"No, it is not alright," Spock snapped. "I must..." He curled his hand into a fist. It, too, was trembling. "... control... combat... My emotional state is... my own. They cannot... control it." Each word was uttered through clenched teeth on the Vulcan's behalf.

Kirk watched warily. He had never seen Spock reach an emotional state except for the time that he himself had taunted Spock into exploding on the Bridge of the _Enterprise_ before. That had been explosive enough and he had been _trying_. Now it was just Spock, just Spock dealing with his emotions, emotions that he had had ripped from him against his will.

The possibilities of what Spock could do in this emotional state was actually something that Kirk deemed 'scary shit'.

"Spock..."

"It is _not_ 'alright', Jim!" Spock exploded. "I _refuse_-" He broke off suddenly, snapping his teeth together with an audible clacking sound.

Kirk was sorely tempted to move away, but something held him in place. It wasn't psychokinesis this time. It was... worry? "Spock, look, you're going to be fine. _Fine_," he stressed, reaching out to Spock but not quite touching his arm for fear of losing his fingers. "Alright? Trust me. I promise."

Spock stared at his hand critically. His eyes were blazing. He looked ready to kill and that look was very, _very_ unsettling on a Vulcan.

The door swung open. It distracted Spock's anger, deviating the blazing gaze to the double doors that had been opened. Kirk's guards went back up and he turned around immediately, ready to kick and claw and scream if that was what it took to get Spock out of here.

There was no reason for his protectiveness. The only person standing in the doorway was Bones.

"Bones!" Kirk turned away from Spock, crossing the room. "What's going on? Are you alright?" he asked critically, noting McCoy's pale complexion.

"I'm fine. I found out what they want, Jim."

"Yeah? What?"

"Me."

Kirk frowned, exchanging a glance with Spock. "What do you mean, you?" he asked, looking back at Bones. "What do they want with you?"

"They want me to become part of their colony. They need a doctor, and they want me."

Kirk snorted. "Yeah, did you tell them what they can do with their wants and desires? They can stick them right up their ass, because I'm not-"

"I said I'd stay," Bones interrupted in a monotone.

Kirk stopped short. He stared at Bones, trying to read anything, a joke, laughter, _emotion_ from his friend's eyes. There was nothing except a blank, haunted look. It was, like Spock's laughter, something that Kirk never wanted to experience again.

"Bones-"

"I'm staying with them, Jim. Call the _Enterprise_ and have them prepare to beam you up."

"Doctor, surely you realise-" Spock started.

"Can it, Spock. I don't want to hear your damn logic. Jim," McCoy said, turning to Kirk.

Kirk looked at him for a moment longer before straightening up. "Leonard, I am the Captain of the _Enterprise_ and I make the command decisions here. I wouldn't leave any of my crew here, let alone one of my friends. I am _not_ leaving you behind. Neither of you."

"I concur with Captain Kirk's statement, despite the undue emotion in which is it presented with. Doctor, it is likely that they will not let the Captain and I leave safely even if you choose to stay," Spock added.

"That's a risk I'm going to have to take, Spock."

"Bones, I'm not going to allow-" Kirk started.

"Dammit, Jim, I'm not asking! Take the green-blooded hobgoblin and get the hell out of here!"

Kirk winced. "Bones..."

"Just get out of here, Jim, before they find a reason to make you stay."

Bones turned away and strode to the doors without so much as a backwards glance, leaving Spock and Kirk in silence as their Chief Medical Officer walked away.

* * *

**Still _Plato's Stepchildren_ but subtly different all the same. Spock's anger is fascinating for me. We know he has it- TOS, this episode, for example, but even in this verse, the explosion on the Bridge- but it's difficult to write. Anyway, Spock's anger will be back. I always thought it was unrealistic for Spock to be so angry in _Plato's_ and then it just went away.**

**Thank you for your support! :D I appreciate it!**


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